2012 • 57th Convention and New Music Reading Clinic

Cynthia Nott has been artistic director of the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas (CCGD) since its inception in 1997.  Under her leadership the chorus has grown dramatically, earned the respect of the Dallas area music community, and impressed audiences by its artistic excellence.  In addition to its own concert schedule, Ms Nott has prepared the chorus to perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera, the Mesquite Civic Chorus, Orpheus Chamber Singers, and the Voices of Change.  Prior to becoming full-time artistic director of the CCGD, Ms Nott taught public middle school choral music for 23 years. 
Nott has been actively involved in a wide range of professional choral activities. She has served as clinician and consultant for music teachers, conductors, and singers throughout the United States.  She has appeared as guest conductor for All-Region and All-State choirs.
Nott earned a BME from Florida State University and a MM in Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University.  She holds affiliations with the TCDA, ACDA, and TMEA

Convention Headliner

Craig Hella Johnson

“Hearing The Call To Be An Artist-Teacher”

A three-part series of sessions that will emphasize inspiration (literally, “to breathe life into…”) and will bring focus to the notion that every participant is an artist-teacher.  For those who are interested, we encourage a commitment to all three sessions, if at all possible.  Use this as a time apart – a gift of renewal – a retreat.

In Craig's words:  “In presentations and dialogues, we would address the question of what it is to be an artist in every task and explore ways in which this reclaiming of one’s own artistry as a musician can permeate even the most ordinary, everyday tasks.  I would like to cultivate a learning circle in which we encourage each of the participants to inhabit the idea that inspiration is in every task, gesture and action.”

Ken Medema has been unable to see with his physical eyes since birth. His sight is limited to distinguishing between light and darkness and seeing fuzzy outlines of major objects.  “As a kid I was not widely accepted,” he says, “and I spent a lot of time by myself. Because I have lived with some degree of being different all my life, I have some sympathy for people who have been disenfranchised, whether they have been disabled or politically oppressed or whatever.”                                                   

Music early became a major component of Medema’s life. When I was eight years old my parents got me a wonderful teacher who taught me the classics with Braille music and taught me to play by ear.” His teacher also taught him to improvise. “Every time I learned a piece my teacher would tell me, ‘Now you improvise in that style.’ So music became a second language.”                             

After graduating from high school Medema studied music therapy at Michigan State University in Lansing, where he concentrated heavily on performance skills in piano and voice. He worked as a music therapist in Fort Wayne, Indiana, returned to Michigan State for a master’s degree (1969), then worked for four years as a music therapist at Essex County Hospital in New Jersey. It was while employed there that he began writing and performing his own songs. “I had a bunch of teenagers who were really hurting,” he says,  “and I started writing songs about their lives. Then I thought, ‘Why don’t you start writing songs about your Christian life?’ So I started doing that, and people really responded.”

In 1973, Medema left his work as a therapist and began a career as a performing and recording artist. He recorded albums for Word and Shawnee Press, then in 1985 founded Brier Patch Music. Brier Patch is an independent recording, publishing, and performance-booking company with headquarters in Grandville, Michigan. Brier Patch is named after Brer Rabbit’s home in the legendary Uncle Remus stories. “Brer Rabbit lived in a place not comfortable for anyone else,” Medema says, “and we decided to follow him there.” Brier Patch creates musical expressions that celebrate all aspects of the human experience, with an emphasis on spirituality and such universal concerns as peace, justice, and the environment.             
Today, Medema performs in a wide variety of venues. Ken and his wife Jane have been married since 1965 and live in the San Francisco Bay area of California. They have two grown children, Rachel and Aaron and daughter-in-law Sonya, granddaughter, Charlotte, and grandson, Henry.